Mixed bag, Writing, Jake's vist, David Hasselhoff

Mixed bag between yesterday afternoon and tonight. I had to start back at work today for teacher orientation. While I was there, the nurse called and said that Denise wanted to see Gracie & Jacob, the staff arranged a visit, and Denise got to see both kids. The kids had a big morning at the park with Denise's dad, and Jacob was a little tired & clingy to grandpa. Gracie was wide awake and gave Denise about a million kisses. Unfortunately, I didn't make it for the visit, but I hope to be there for the next one. And again, many thanks to everyone that dabbled with the rules and allowed the kids to visit. Yesterday Denise went from PRVC vent mode to CPAP, in which she gets to call the shots as far as how often to take a breath, and how deeply. That lasted 5 hours. Not bad. They tried...

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Nerve conduction normal, vent weaning beginning

I just got a call from the doctor with mostly good news. Here's the good stuff:No sedative for over 24 hours; she's really awake & alert this morning. Any time she's asleep it's just that: she's exhausted & sleeping. They're changing her over to a vent mode that allows her do more breathing on her own, so I guess the weaning process will officially begin later today. The neurologist's opinion is that Denise's nerve conduction is normal, and her muscle strength should come back after extensive rehab (but at least there's no damage detected, and we can chalk up one more miracle). The extreme muscle weakness is perceived as being due to meds, breaking down muscle for protein since she can't absorb protein through the gut, and maybe just completing six weeks in the hospital.The concerns:They...

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Active day, Gracie got to visit mommy

Denise had no sedative at all today, and was very active. She ran the daytime nurse ragged in the morning. They had her in the cardiac chair again (Denise, not the nurse), and she tried her best to stand up in it, pushing against the foot plate. During the time I was home for dinner, she tried pulling herself out of bed, so they had to strap her down. She has a belt around her torso and cuffs on her wrists with tie-downs attached (she can't stay away from that pesky breathing hose into her throat).We got permission to take Gracie into Denise's room this afternoon. She wore her custom-built nurse's cap, brought her toy doctor kit, and behaved with a great deal of maturity. Denise was pretty tired, but lit up when she saw Gracie (Gracie lit up, too). We were able to let Gracie sit on the bed,...

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If You're A Woman Over 25, You Should Eat These Foods To Prevent Diseases That Claims Most Women's Lives

By : Naweko San-JoyzDo you keep your health care plan in the fridge? It's not a bad idea actually because if you pick your foods the right way, you can pack heart disease, colon cancer, osteoporosis, and diabetes prevention all in a day's worth of groceries.Heart DiseaseIt kills nearly 500,000 women a year. The American Heart Association warns that heart disease, including stroke, claims more women's lives than the next six causes of death combined. Yet few women realize their risks for heart disease.Hip 30-something singer Toni Braxton thought her chests pains were just from parenting stress before she discovered that she had heart disease. While the singer is OK now, she's getting the word out about heart disease as the spokeswoman for the American Heart Association's "Go Red For Women"...

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Indium scan on deck

Yesterday was fairly mellow. Denise was sedated or asleep most of the time and we didn't interact much. I did a lot of reading. Last night she finally started to wake up and asked about the baby. I told her the usual response "Don't worry... he's doing perfect, very well taken care of." She indicated that she wanted me to leave her and go visit the baby.The doctor called earlier this morning with the latest. Fevers are still high and they don't know why. So they're going to do an Indium scan. They will take some of her white blood cells, tag them with Indium (radioactive), put the cells back in her, and the cells will accumulate at the site of infection. They can then scan her body and find where all the white cells are hanging out. Then a proper course of action can be determined.She's back...

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Kidspace Museum, anyone?

I've heard lots about the Kidspace museum in Pasadena, and I'd like to send the kids. If you have a family pass and you'd be willing to take the kids, please contact me. Gracie's going to be 4 in October, Jacob is about 17 months. You can use our van if seating is a concern.In fact, if you have a family pass to anyplace and you'd like to include my kids on your family field trip, let me know (thank you to the families that have taken them to the library for story time, park, zoo, aquarium, and Huntington Library... they love those places...

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Biting, frustration, cardiac chair, video, dad update

I almost got bit today (well, yesterday, since it's now the wee hours of Sunday morning). Denise kept pulling the tracheostomy hose off. She was about to do it agiain and as I was prying her fingers off, she tried biting my fingers. She put up a pretty good fight, too. She's really angry with having to be in bed, having all the tubes, not being able to use the restroom, unable to speak, too uncoordinated to write (though her scribbles are getting finer). She's pretty loopy much of the time, so it's always like the first time, having to tell her about all these hoses, how long she's been in the hospital, etc. I had to tell her that if she kept popping the hose off, she'd get sedated or tied down (and then she'd really get mad).The absorption of nutrition continues to be problematic. She's thrown...

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Sedated vs. Alert, Mirror, Sneakers

Been a rough couple days since the last post. Denise has had some more sedative a couple times, and when she starts coming out of the stupors, she's still asking about the baby & we're reliving the bad news over & over. At this point, I just show her the picture of her holding Danny & say, "Don't worry... he's being very well taken care of right now." I'm a little discouraged, because I kind of thought we'd be beyond all this after bringing her to full-throttle alert and telling her about the baby a couple days ago.The more Denise becomes alert, the more uncomfortable and aggitated she gets. Yes, it's good that at least she's well enough to be awake sometimes & be able to know she's miserable. But I don't like seeing it. I'm also having to explain the tubes & hoses once...

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Women Health - Fourteen Simple Things You Can Do To Reduce Your Risk for Breast Cancer

1. Increase your consumption of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables.2. Avoid using any pesticides or chemical sprays in your home. Try to avoid new carpet.3. Avoid drinking tap water.4. Decrease alcohol consumption.5. Start an exercise program.6. Increase consumption of organic whole grains and fiber.7. Decrease meat, poultry and fish consumption.8. Stop smoking.9. Increase consumption of phytoestrogens from organic sources.10. Decrease or stop consumption of processed foods.11. Avoid trans-fatty acids found in margarine and some vegetable shortenings.12. Take two capsules of organic flaxseed oil daily or just add a teaspoon of flaxseed oil to your daily organic salad.13. If you are pregnant definitely breast feed.14. Gets lots of sunshine as breast cancer is less prevalent in areas where...

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Valley Fever Whipped? Hug! Mission Impossible 3

Topping off today's post is a public service announcement. If you're signed up to receive the email version of these updates (see link to the right if you haven't already signed up), please don't respond to those updates if you want to write back to me. They go back to my cousin that set up the emailing capability, and then he has to forward everything to me. Instead, either click on the COMMENTS link under each post or send an email to me at the email address in the box at the top of this page.Much more good than bad news today!THE GOOD: Latest tests for the presence of cocci (the Valley Fever fungus) came back empty. So it looks like that infection may finally be whipped. I assume they will keep her on the meds & do another culture or two in the future, just to be sure. The only other...

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Denise knows about losing the baby

Yesterday afternoon we told Denise that we lost baby Daniel. Denise was fully awake/aware, was definitely asking about the pregnancy & baby, and was getting mad that everyone was giving her evasive answers (some of these great nurses would also make great politicians). The ObGyn explained what happened to Denise while I, Denise's mom, and a chaplain were there. Denise did better than I did. I've been worrying about Denise's health so much during the past weeks that it was almost as bad as my first time hearing the news. Denise started to cry and heave her chest, but she mostly coughed and set off the alarms on the ventilator. The ObGyn also told made sure to tell Denise that Denise didn't do anything wrong; she made the best choices possible for herself and the baby. But at a point when...

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Error AGAIN... Ativan, not Avastin

It was just brought to my attention that in the post made earlier today, I stated that Denise's sedative was Avastin. It's Ativan. I made this mistake earlier in my August 11 post, to which I posted an error alert as well.(Denise *did* receive some Avastin a few days back, but to help boost her red cells).Ah, the joys of being mildy dyslexic! Good thing I'm not giving Denise her meds, huh? Guess I could never be a nurse....

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Women Health - Top 10 Foods for Women

Beans and PulsesBeans and pulses should be included in everyone's diet, but for women they are especially important. They are highly nutritious, low in fat, and an excellent source of vegetable protein. A fibre-rich diet is one of the first components to colon cancer prevention, and with more women dying of colon cancer than breast cancer every year; it makes sense to eat plenty of beans. This group of foods also contain phytoestrogens, the natural plant hormones, which are also protective against cancer, as well as being important for bone health.KaleKale is an often-overlooked vegetable that happens to be loaded with folate (folic acid), an important B vitamin for women. Having a deficiency in folic acid during pregnancy may cause neural-tube defects in babies. In the UK, all women of childbearing...

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Women Health - Top 10 Trends in Healthcare

America is undergoing a dramatic shift in healthcare. Actually, ten distinctly different shifts. Although the changes are unsettling, and will cause dislocations in our economy, the overall trends are positive and will help us all be healthier and wealthier when it all shakes out.Western Medicine Costs Continue to RiseIt's hard to imagine, but the cost of going to a regular MD or hospital is going to get more and more expensive. This is not because doctors or hospitals are getting greedy, but instead because their own costs are rising every year. Malpractice insurance for risky surgical procedures, pharmaceutical drug reactions and deaths with accompanying lawsuits, complex medical equipment for diagnostic testing – everything is rising dramatically in cost. Pharmaceutical drug costs will...

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5 weeks in, memory better, asking about baby

Things have been progressing slow for the last couple days. Overall, her breathing continues to get better, her blood, nutrient absorption, infection & high fevers continue to be in the limelight as concerns. Denise looks very frail... bony hands, tiny wrists, etc. Not chewing & talking make her cheek bones very pronounced, cheeks sunken in & jaw line not as square. In spite of that, she's still giving it all she's got when she's alert, moving her legs & arms. Yesterday I think she was able to bend her knees on her own a tiny bit, and she was able to raise her arms at the elbows with great effort. She even accidentally batted the tracheostomy tube and it popped off for a second. There was another change in antibiotic, as one of her infections (pseudomonas something or...

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Coping, Amnesia, Blessings Counted, Music

Today has been fairly uneventful, as far as major news goes. Transfusion, antibiotic switch (Vancomycin to Tobramycin), physical & occupational therapy (Denise has expressed that she likes to move). There might be another organism found in the fluid from the paracentis (a gram-negative bacilli possibly). As usual, there is a waiting game involved with the cultures. I should have asked if this might be the same organism that was found from the swab that the ObGyn did a while back, in which they found p. aeruginosa, but I forgot. I remember from bio way back that a bacilli is a rod-shaped bacteria, and I read that p. aeruginosa is gram-negative (can anyone explain "gram-negative" within the 300-word limit of a comment?). No word on the CT scan for neuropathy causes yet. Still have the usual...

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2 days of news, and jury duty

Today was our one-month anniversary for this ordeal. Denise went into the hospital the 18th of July. Sorry for not posting yesterday, and posting so late today. Here's the scoop: Yesterday: CT scan of abdominal area & pelvis, with contrast. Contrast... I guess it's like paint or something so the organs show up better. Denise is an artist at heart, so I hope she appreciated the contrast. Anyway, that showed lots of fluid buildup around bowels. The question is: why? Also, they drew blood to do some blood cultures. I learned that they have regular tubes for adult blood samples. And they have child-sized tubes as well. They've been using those pediatric-sized tubes for Denise all along, because they don't want to take much blood from her if they can help it. Fever crept up to 103.4. She vomited...

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Less Vent, Less Critical

This morning's news is short & sweet. Denise's dad & I went in at about 9 am to watch the physical therapy. Denise did pretty good. We learned a lot of things that we can do with her. Much of the work was passive, but some was active, requiring Denise to apply a little force on her own. She was *really* tired when therapy was done. Not that she's ever really been a morning person, but she was already starting to fade in & out by 10 am. I still got a smile, though! :O)The ventilator pressure went from yesterday's 20 cm/H20 to 18 today. So once again, here's another day with the machine doing less work, Denise doing more, and her oxygenation remaining adequate.The doctor indicated that they're going to discontinue the med that boosts white blood cell production, as her marrow...

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Physical Therapy Starting, Less Vent Pressure

I didn't hear from the doctor until very late today. This is good. Usually, the earlier I hear something, the worse things are. OR I may have heard from him late today because he just became a daddy this morning. One of the nurses said she thought she saw him early this morning. Then his wife had a baby. Then he called to touch base with me later in the day. Wow. That's dedication.Things are fairly stable today. The same problems are still being problematic. She needed another unit of blood to get the hemoglobin count back to acceptable levels. Still battling colitis & infections. Still needing ultra-high amounts of protein. Still very, very sick.But on the good side, a physical therapist started Denise's first session today. This will be no surprise to those of you that know Denise's...

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Women Health - Pregnant Women Don't Just Stay At Home; Go Shopping !

Most women like to go shopping. However, sometimes pregnantwomen reluctant to go out because they are afraid could harmthem. That's not true! Go and have fun. You don't have to spendany money; just get out and window shop. Try on shoes; check outthe new fall purses or sample a new cookie at the corner stand.Shopping is very therapeutic for women, and it gives you achance to clear your mind.If you are feeling ambitious, though, or cannot justify takingan afternoon off to shop, give yourself a chore, like decidingon nursery room colors or selecting a crib. Then, you will feellike you are accomplishing something as you go.Do not get stressed out, however, if you do not find what youwant right away. Remember, you are just looking now. There isno hurry to immediately find and/or buy everything,...

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Links

All Womens Health QuestionsAnswers to women's health questions, including information on diets and weightloss, supplements, exercise equipment, skin care, pregnancy, education, nutrition, food and drink, etc.FamilyWorldVillage is the web's leading site for family-friendly internet since 1995.FertilityOn this site you will learn information on fertility and how to get pregnant without IVF or artificial ovulation.Skin SageYour source for information on anti-aging and anti-wrinkle skin care products for younger, healthier looking skin.Sauna KitThe best sauna advice on the internet. Sauna help has all the answers, from how to build your own sauna to health concerns with infrared saunasCERTIFIED ORGANIC BEAUTY SKIN PRODUCTS, COSMETICS & PROBIOTIC NUTRIENTSWe promote a healthy life and sell...

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Error Aug. 11: Ativan, not Avastin

There was an error on the August 11 entry, which stated that the sedative was Avastin. That is incorrect. The sedative is Atavan or Ativan (I've found both spellings). Avastin was on my mind because my dad was on it for cancer treatment, and all these drugs are starting to sound the same. I received a couple email from alarmed nurse-types that knew the difference. Thanks for bringing this to my attenti...

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Breathing better, Blood worse, Reading Lips

The doctor just called with the usual good news/bad news/neutral news update.Denise's lung mechanics are going well enough that they're going to turn down the vent pressure and let her assume more of the work in breathing. The holes in the lungs have closed up. Chest tubes will stay in for the time being, however.Last night she was responding fairly quickly to news of how long she'd been sedated, what the date was, and much of what has happened. She expressed disbelief. Can't remember a thing. Good.A therapist will be coming to start working on muscle movements. She's very weak from the severe sepsis and the meds. The neurologist will also be coming in to do some more evaluations.Her fevers haven't spiked beyond 102 for the past 24 hours. As mentioned numerous times, some part of the fever...

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p.aeruginosa found

The culture from the fluid draw they did the other day (paracentesis is what it's called) showed nothing of concern so far (let's hope it stays that way). But the swab that the ObGyn did showed growth of the p. aeruginosa bacteria. The "p" stands for "pseudomonas." The "p" also stands for "pretty darn resistant to antibiotics." Apparently there's currently only one antibiotic (Primaxin) that can lick this bacteria, so they'll try that. I just now looked it up and saw that it's got Imipenem as a component. I remember that name because I already joked in an earlier post that Denise likes Stan Getz doing "Girl from Ipanema" and Denise had become the "Girl on Imipenem." Why it was apparently tried before and we still have this infection to deal with, I don't understand. Then again, I don't understand...

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New lung hole, more sedation, infection concerns

Well, Denise has indeed developed another pneumothorax (lung hole) according to the x-rays. It's smaller than the first one, but they still had to sedate her again to put in another lung tube to allow the air & fluid to drain. So she's sleeping again. Still, yesterday was a nice bit of encouragement!The doctor told me that there was something found in the fluid taken from the pelvic region yesterday. The standard bacteria/virus/fungus waiting game still applies: gotta wait 48-72 hours for cultures. Preliminary word is that it might be something that's pretty resistant, though I didn't get the specific name. Hopefully, the infectious disease doctor will have spoken to Denise's main doctor by the time I get back to the hospital and I can report to you all what she might be dealing with later...

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